A review by esotericareads
Between Everything and Nothing: The Journey of Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal and the Quest for Asylum by Joe Meno
4.0
#partner Thank you to @counterpointpress for the free review copy of this book.
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"Over and over again, Razak was forced to confront the same inequities, the same police corruption, the same blunt use of power that he had traveled thousands of miles to escape. Once more he had been rendered voiceless, powerless. Sitting in the dirty cell, it was becoming clearer and clearer to Razak that the West was entirely dependent on the clandestine industry of undocumented immigration and that few people were interested in seeing anything change. It was a secret everyone was aware of but no one was willing to talk about."
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Between Everything and Nothing tells the true story of Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal and their journeys from Ghana to America and then eventually Canada to seek asylum. Seidu was under threat by his government since he identifies as bisexual. Razak's family members and a corrupt government official threatened him when he tried to claim his rightful inheritance. Both men suffered immense difficulties and came close to death numerous times as they made their way up to America from Brazil. They both presented themselves at the American border only to be detained in prisons like criminals. This book is shocking. Even though I was aware of many injustices asylum seekers face, I learned so much more about how corrupt our country is to those seeking safety. The story is mixed with facts and history about how our country has handled and is currently handling asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants. This is a difficult read but I encourage you to read it to understand.
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I do have some critiques of the book to mention. At times the language used felt very overly flowery and out of place. For example: "the feeling of limbic desolation, biblical in its proportions." I don't think it works in a memoir-style book but I think it's because a third person is writing the story. Also, women were not given the right to vote in 1920. WHITE women were given the right. I just needed to correct the author there.
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Overall, I gave this book 4 stars and would recommend it.
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"Over and over again, Razak was forced to confront the same inequities, the same police corruption, the same blunt use of power that he had traveled thousands of miles to escape. Once more he had been rendered voiceless, powerless. Sitting in the dirty cell, it was becoming clearer and clearer to Razak that the West was entirely dependent on the clandestine industry of undocumented immigration and that few people were interested in seeing anything change. It was a secret everyone was aware of but no one was willing to talk about."
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Between Everything and Nothing tells the true story of Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal and their journeys from Ghana to America and then eventually Canada to seek asylum. Seidu was under threat by his government since he identifies as bisexual. Razak's family members and a corrupt government official threatened him when he tried to claim his rightful inheritance. Both men suffered immense difficulties and came close to death numerous times as they made their way up to America from Brazil. They both presented themselves at the American border only to be detained in prisons like criminals. This book is shocking. Even though I was aware of many injustices asylum seekers face, I learned so much more about how corrupt our country is to those seeking safety. The story is mixed with facts and history about how our country has handled and is currently handling asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants. This is a difficult read but I encourage you to read it to understand.
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I do have some critiques of the book to mention. At times the language used felt very overly flowery and out of place. For example: "the feeling of limbic desolation, biblical in its proportions." I don't think it works in a memoir-style book but I think it's because a third person is writing the story. Also, women were not given the right to vote in 1920. WHITE women were given the right. I just needed to correct the author there.
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Overall, I gave this book 4 stars and would recommend it.